Bintuni lowland forest

A(i)Site contains one or more globally threatened species

Bintuni lowland forest has records of 5 threatened Red Listed species, including the site endemic Kibara royenii. Several national endemics are recorded at the site. Tall lowland rainforest is threatened in New Guinea due to the large number of timber concessions.

This TIPA belongs to the Vogelkop–Aru lowland rain forests ecoregion. The vegetation of the ecoregion is tropical wet evergreen forest, including lowland alluvial forests, hill forests, and limestone forests. The western boundary of this TIPA is the Seybar river, and the western boundary is the Meyado river. The northern boundary lies about 20 km north of Bintuni town. The eastern border lines up with the border of the Bintuni Bay Nature Reserve. The site contains the town of Bintuni, formerly known as Steenkool.

The economically important and threatened timber trees Pterocymbium beccarii (VU) and Koompassia grandiflora (VU) occur within the Bintuni lowland forests (Rumayomi et al. 2024). Myristica argentea (VU), a nutmeg relative with medicinal and culinary uses, also occurs here. Myristica neglecta (DD) is a national endemic known from only two sites, one of which is Bintuni. National endemic palms Dransfieldia micrantha and Hydriastele variabilis occur here, as does the threatened palm Licuala bifida (EN). Kibara royenii (VU) is a site endemic known only from Bintuni.

This area’s bedrock are sedimentary rocks from the Neogene-Quaternary. This TIPA includes both primary and secondary dry forests, with the latter being the most abundant type of forest.

Teluk Bintuni Regency is one of the developing areas in Indonesian New Guinea in which the establishment of infrastructure is a main priority. Additionally, the use of the forests has been conducted for decades, either using traditional or more modern methods by local people for their livelihoods. There are some remaining primary forests, but some areas have been destroyed by logging concessions, local use and developmental priorities. There is an abundance of secondary forests, which represent a stage of ecological succession in which species richness and diversity has decreased. This TIPA is surrounded by encroaching logging concessions, which are a major threat to its biodiversity.

Anna Trias Blasi, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

Laura Jennings, Royal Botanic Garden Kew

Charlie D. Heatubun, The Provincial Government of West Papua and Universitas Papua

Jimmy Wanma, State University of Papua

Date of first assessment: 28th Feb 2025